Top 322 September 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

Jasson Dominguez was originally ranked first overall when I started this list, but with his callup last night, he is no longer eligible. So a brand new #1 prospect is crowned in Kristian Campbell! Any player currently in the majors is ineligible for this list, and I use that eligibility because I find lists are more fun/interesting/valuable when they highlight new up and coming talent. Dominguez was already the first overall prospect in the August Rankings, so he had his time. The Updated Dynasty Rankings coming in two weeks will have all of the prospects in the majors ranked, and obviously any player who retains prospect eligibility at the end of the season will be reinserted into the off-season prospects rankings. Bur for now, it’s all about ranking prospects still in the minors. As usual, I go over 300 deep with blurbs for every player. Top 25 free here on the Brick Wall. Here is the Top 322 September 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

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*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis

**Any player currently in the majors is ineligible

1) (34) (157) (UR) (UR) Kristian Campbell BOS, 2B/OF, 22.3 –  A new #1 overall fantasy prospect is crowned, and that man’s name is Kristian Campbell. Here is what I wrote about Campbell in his latest Dynasty Baseball Rundown blurb, “I was asked about a comp for Campbell in the August Mailbag Podcast, and I couldn’t really think up of a great comp. But after watching him continue his absolute tear through Triple-A, maybe Fernando Tatis Jr. is the perfect comp. I didn’t want to go that lofty on the comp, but he has the size (6’3”, 210 pounds), the athleticism (23 steals) and power (20 homers) to live up to it.” … he currently has a 90 MPH EV in 16 games at Triple-A, and on his latest homer, I think he dislocated his shoulder with one of the most bad intentions swings I’ve seen. The launch is low and the hit tool still has some risk, so he’s not an absolutely perfect prospect, but he’s clearly an elite prospect. Campbell vs. Anthony is a coin flip for me, and Anthony being two years younger almost gave him the nod, but ultimately I couldn’t pass up on Campbell. He’s my top dog.

2) (3) (12) (10) (14) Roman AnthonyBOS, OF, 20.4 – How about the Sox having the top 2 prospects in the minor leagues right now? And they have far more than that too, they are not just top heavy. I hope the Yanks and Orioles are having their fun, because the Sox are coming real soon. As for Anthony, Triple-A isn’t slowing him down at all with a 149 wRC+ and 18.2/12.7 K%/BB% in 23 games. High groundball rates and poor base stealing are the only quibbles in his profile. He’s an upper middle class man’s Gunnar Henderson

3) (4) (8) (3) (19) Matt ShawCHC, 3B, 22.10 – Shaw has a 91.4 MPH EV with 4 homers in 23 games at Triple-A just in case anyone was questioning his power at 5’9”. He combines that with contact, approach and speed. He still feels underrated to me

4) (6) (15) (15) (58) Carson WilliamsTBR, SS, 21.2 – 28.1% K% in 111 games at Double-A is starting to creep up there, but it’s not high enough to scare me off. He can be just fine with a K% in the high 20’s throughout his career, and if he get eventually get it under 25%, we could be looking at an elite fantasy player with his at least plus power/speed combo

5) (5) (9) (4) (25) Emmanuel RodriguezMIN, OF, 21.6 – Finally returned from a thumb injury and is now getting his first shot at Triple-A where he has a 41.7% K% in 5 games (as well as 1 homer and a 25% BB%). If anyone can hit under .200 with an over .400 OBP, it will be Rodriguez

6) (9) (14) (18) (64) Noah SchultzCHW, LHP, 21.1 – His profile is almost unheard of. A 6’9” lefty with double plus stuff and plus control. Even Randy Johnson struggled with control earlier in his career. Randy actually had an insane 318 walks in 400.1 minor league innings pitched before getting the call to the bigs. Schultz is unprecedented. He’s easily my top pitching prospect in the game.

7) (11) (11) (11) (27) Samuel BasalloBAL, C/1B, 20.1 – The upper minors definitely slowed him down a bit, and Triple-A is slowing him down more than a bit with a 41.3/4.3 K%/BB% and 19 wRC+ in 10 games. He’s barely 20 years old, so it’s an extremely encouraging season overall, but his comp maybe goes from Yordan Alvarez to Rafael Devers. Not bad

8) (12) (72) (58) (88) Leodalis De VriesSDP, SS, 17.10 – De Vries vs. Jenkins vs. Walcott seems to be a popular debate, and I have De Vries first out of that group right now because he’s the one who has already tapped into his raw power the most. He ripped 11 homers in his last 40 games and he has a 49.3% FB% on the season. All 3 are going to be great, but that is what gives the small edge to De Vries at the moment.

9) (13) (23) (8) (12) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 19.6 –  I comped Jenkins to Kyle Tucker, and Jenkins’ first year of pro ball is going very similarly to Tucker’s. Tucker had 9 homers with 32 steals and a 16.3/10.1 K%/BB% in 117 games in the lower minors, and Jenkins has 6 homers with 15 steals and a 12.7/15.6 K%/BB% in 76 games. Like Tucker, the power explosion is almost certainly coming

10) (14) (7) (NA) (6) Jordan LawlarARI, SS, 22.1 – Lawlar tore his shoulder swinging a bat. He broke his thumb fielding a grounder. And he suffered a major hamstring strain presumably when running. Swinging a bat, fielding grounders, and running is basically the job, and getting majorly injured so often while doing these routine things makes it appropriate to slap the dreaded “injury prone” label on him. The good news is that he’s back from the hamstring injury and went 1 for 5 in his return. He just has to stay healthy

11) (40) (112) (75) (158) Bubba ChandlerPIT, RHP, 21.11 – I was a little hesitant this off-season to go all in on Chandler, because while the huge stuff was undeniable, he still needed a lot of refinement. Well, that refinement came this off-season and he’s now destroying Triple-A with a 1.93 ERA and 32.1/9.8 K%/BB% in 28 IP. The fastball averages 96.7 MPH and is a bat missing weapon. The slider is his most used secondary and it induces weak contact and misses bats. The changeup is his best secondary with a 40.5% whiff% and 79.7 MPH EV against at Triple-A. And finally the curve is a good pitch too. As long as the control/command stays solid, this is an easy ace. Pitt is absolutely stacked with both high end talent and depth

12) (8) (FYPD-1) (NA) (NA) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 22.0 – A lot of these college bats are getting a cold splash of water to the face after putting up video game numbers in college. Bazzana is hitting well with a 126 wRC+ in 27 games at High-A, but a .238/.369/.396 slashline with 3 homers and a 25.4% K% is not exactly screaming no doubt MLB superstar. I still love him, and I think he’s still going to be an impact fantasy player, but it’s at least something to think about

13) (17) (FYPD-2) (NA) (NA) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.0 – Profile is completely transferring to pro ball, slashing .295/.405/.400 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 11.9/12.7 K%/BB% in 29 games at Single-A. His upside might not be quite as high as some of the other bats, but he probably has the highest floor, and I do think there is 20/20 upside in here

14) (20) (22) (55) (83) Josue De PaulaLAD, OF, 19.3 – The last step to elite prospect status is an uptick in game power with 10 homers in 107 games, and while he certainly has the huge raw power in the tank, we only have to look at Jordan Walker to not take it for granted

15) (21) (33) (30) (33) Sebastian WalcottTEX, SS, 18.7 – The 25.5% K% is still on the high side, and he hasn’t fully tapped into his raw power with 10 homers in 116 games at High-A, but all of that is just nitpicking. He has a 123 wRC+ as an 18 year old at High-A. College hitters are struggling to keep their heads above water at that level right now. Future star

16) (24) (48) (28) (28) Max ClarkDET, OF, 19.9 – I gave him the Corbin Carroll/Pete Crow Armstrong comp, and he was exactly as advertised in the lower minors. When the power ticks up, like we are seeing with Pete Crow right now, there is superstar upside

17) (15) (13) (6) (15) Jackson JobeDET, RHP, 22.1 – Is everyone just ignoring the 12.7% BB% in 73.2 IP at Double-A? I love Jobe just as much as the next guy, but it feels like this is getting majorly glossed over at the moment. He’s also had some injury issues in his career. Huge upside, but the risk is starting to creep up there too

18) (123) (265) (263) (319) Kumar RockerTEX, RHP, 24.8 – Returned from Tommy John surgery and he’s going full elite pitching prospect on us with a 1.96 ERA and 55/5 K/BB in 36.2 IP at mostly Double-A and Triple-A. The fastball sits 97.9 MPH and the slider is double plus to elite. He also mixes in a cutter, sinker and slider. If you want to ignore all risk from the shoulder surgery and Tommy John surgery which delayed his career, he has a case to be the top pitching prospect in the game, but I think factoring in some risk is prudent. All pitchers are risky, so I’m not going to dock him too much, but I’m not going to put him as the #1 pitcher on this list. He’s going to make his MLB debut on Thursday, and since he’s not up quite yet, he cracks this list.

19) (22) (27) (17) (36) Andrew Painter PHI, RHP, 21.2 –  Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023, which will keep him out for all of 2024. He has the type of elite upside to take the Tommy John discount on, but I do think you have to factor some risk in

20) (61) (92) (92) (105) Bryce EldridgeSFG, OF, 19.9 – His dominance at High-A was so spectacular (187 wRC+ in 48 games) that it earned him a promotion to Double-A as a 19 year old, and he’s looked great there too with 1 homer, 19.2/11.5 K%/BB% and 115 wRC+ in 6 games. He’s 6’7” with elite power. No two ways about it at this point. He’s a truly elite power hitting prospect

21) (19) (18) (24) (48) Marcelo MayerBOS, SS, 21.9 – 141 wRC+ in 77 games at Double-A, but how big the power/speed combo will end up is still a question. He has only 8 homers with a 47.4% GB%, and he’s not a burner despite a solid 13 steals. He might end up more solid than standout in the majors, but at only 21, there is plenty of development time left to go

22) (25) (24) (12) (35) Colt EmersonSEA, SS, 19.2 – High-A slowed him down a bit with a 90 wRC+ and 21.6% K% in 29 games, but on the plus side, he’s running a ton with 9 steals at the level. He’s 15 for 17 in 70 games on the season, so while he might not be a true burner, he looks like he could be a skilled baserunner

23) (23) (FYPD-3) (NA) (NA) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 21.8 – Yet to debut

24) (27) (28) (19) (68) Tink Hence STL, RHP, 22.1 – Little Tink can’t seem to get true elite pitching prospect buzz because he isn’t a big guy, but size aside, the dude is elite with a 2.76 ERA and 34.4/8.0 K%/BB% in 78.1 IP at Double-A. He has the nasty stuff to back up the numbers. If he was a broad 6’2”, there would be zero questions about him

25) (35) (70) (82) (189) Thomas WhiteMIA, LHP, 19.10 – 2.61 ERA with a 29.9/8.3 K%/BB% in 62 IP at High-A. He has the size and stuff to back it up. He’s on the short list for #1 pitching prospect in the game once the guys in the upper minors graduate

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-SEPTEMBER TOP 322 PROSPECTS RANKS
-AUGUST TOP 274 DYNASTY RANKS (UPDATED TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKS COMING IN 2 WEEKS)
-TOP 57 2025 FYPD RANKS with full scouting reports and prime projections
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (SEPT MAILBAG COMING NEXT WEEK)
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-SPREADSHEETS
-OFF-SEASON CONTENT! – Dynasty Team Reports, Team Prospect Rankings, Deep Positional Rankings, Top 100+ FYPD Ranks, Top 500+ Prospects Ranks, Top 1,000 Dynasty Ranks & so much more!

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

Top 327 August 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

The trade deadline has passed. The 2024 MLB Draft is in the books. And that means it’s time to update the Top 300+ Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings over on the Patreon. Top 23 free here on the Brick Wall. Any player currently in the majors is ineligible for this list. So if you’re in the minors and have under 130 AB or 50 IP, you are eligible. As usual, I go over 300 deep with blurbs for every player. Here is the Top 327 August 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 327 PROSPECTS RANKS
-MID-SEASON TOP 422 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (7/12/24)
-TOP 57 2025 FYPD RANKS (7/19/24)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JULY MAILBAG! (7/31/24)
-TOP 11 MID-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS (6/25/24)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-SPREADSHEETS

*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis

**Any player currently in the majors is ineligible

1) (2) (NA) (8) Jasson DominguezNYY, OF, 21.6 – Alex Verdugo has a 87 wRC+ and isn’t a particularly good defensive player. It’s getting mighty close to that time for The Martian to invade New York again, and we saw what happened the last time he invaded New York with 4 bombs in just 8 games. His combination of upside and proximity is hard to match. He deserves the #1 spot on these rankings with all of prospects in the major leagues being ineligible for this list.

2) (5) (NA) (4) Junior CamineroTBR, 3B/SS, 21.1 – Caminero is a close 2nd to Dominguez in terms of upside and proximity. But he doesn’t steal bases (1 steal in 48 games), and it sure feels like Tampa is ready to manipulate the hell out of his service time

3) (12) (10) (14) Roman AnthonyBOS, OF, 20.3 – The game power and stolen base speed have arrived at Double-A with 10 homers and 10 steals in his last 38 games. There is still some low launch (46.1% GB%) and high K (25.9% K%) in his game, but that feels like nitpicking for a barely 20 year old kid with a 134 wRC+ in the upper minors.

4) (8) (3) (19) Matt ShawCHC, 3B, 22.9 – Earned a callup to Triple-A by obliterating Double-A over his last 46 games, slashing .333/.400/.582 with 11 homers, 15 steals, and a 13.6%/9.7% K%/BB%. The Paredes trade complicated his path to playing time, but I’m trusting it to get sorted one way or another by 2025. Shaw still feels underrated to me

5) (9) (4) (25) Emmanuel RodriguezMIN, OF, 21.5 – A thumb injury from sliding into 2nd base put an abrupt halt to Rodriguez’ massive season at Double-A (201 wRC+ in 37 games). Even my 9 year old nephew uses one of those huge sliding mitts when on the bases (it’s kinda hilarious). Come on EmRod. It doesn’t change how much I love him with a monster OBP/power/speed combo, but it’s definitely annoying

6) (15) (15) (58) Carson WilliamsTBR, SS, 21.1 – The hit tool concerns aren’t completely out of the woods with a 27% K% and .255 BA, but the age to level, power (14 homers), speed (28 steals), and glove more than make up for that. Plus, the K rate is actually improved from what he did in the lower minors. The Rays starting SS job is waiting for him

7) (FYPD-1) Charlie Condon – COL, 3B/1B/OF, 21.4 – Ranked 1st overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “I was all set to have Bazzana #1 on my FYPD Board, but with Condon going to Coors with the 3rd overall pick in the draft, it rattled my whole game plan. How can you pass up on a massive human being, with massive numbers, in the best conference in college baseball, going to the best ballpark in the majors, which just so happens to juice up the only slight quibble in his profile? The answer is, you can’t. Or at least I can’t. Condon has to be the top dog now. He’s 6’6”, 215 pounds and he swings the bat like it’s a literal twig. He ripped 37 homers in 60 games in the SEC this year and has 62 homers in 116 career games in the SEC. The power is near elite (I say near elite, because Jac has more power). He improved both his contact rates and plate approach this year with a 13.5%/18.8% K%/BB%, and like I alluded to, Coors Field juices up batting average the most. Coors is actually slightly below average for homers in 2024, but with 6’6” baseball players, it’s always the BA you have to watch out for, so this landing spot is perfect. He’s not going to steal many bases, but he’s a good athlete, and he should be able to nab a handful. If your team really needs the stolen bases, I can maybe see going Bazzana one, but all things being equal, there is just too much offense upside in that hitting environment to pass up on Condon in the top spot. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 99/34/107/.276/.357/.529/6″

8) (FYPD-2) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 21.11 – Ranked 2nd overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 1st overall, Bazzana looks like a tightly wound ball of kinetic energy that is just ready to explode in the box (I think ball of “Potential” energy is actually the correct scientific term, but I felt like “Kinetic” just hit harder 🙂 … There is toe tapping and bat wiggling before he absolutely uncoils on the baseball, jacking 28 homers in 60 games in the Pac 12 this year, and also smoking 6 homers with a 1.037 OPS in the wood bat cape cod league in 2023. He’s “only” 6 feet tall, but there is easy plus power in here at the least. He combines the plus power with a near elite plate approach/hit tool (12.5%/25.7% K%/BB%), and speed (16 steals). He’s the total offensive package, and there is a reason he got taken #1 overall by a very smart franchise despite limited defensive value. The only thing that can stop him seems to be his parents. His parents almost ended his career before it started when celebrating. His dad tried to rip his arm out of his socket, and then his mom put him in some kind of neck hold into a tripping maneuver. Travis almost looked like he was about to square up with his mom for a second there. I guess they do things differently Down Under in Australia. Either way, he survived, and if you want to give Bazzana the edge over Condon because of steals, I wouldn’t blame you. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 100/25/91/.287/.366/.481/23″

9) (14) (18) (64) Noah SchultzCHW, LHP, 21.0 – He’s yet to throw more than 4 IP in any outing of his career and he only has 65.2 IP on the season. Workload is the only thing to nitpick here, because everything else is straight elite with a 1.64 ERA and 29.6%/6.6% K%/BB% in 38.1 IP at Double-A. Schultz was my top pitcher target in his FYPD class, and he’s arrived

10) (10) (9) (10) Dylan CrewsWAS, OF, 22.4 – Just when we were ready to put the rough 2023 Double-A debut behind us, he went out and looked mighty mediocre when he got the call to Triple-A with a 87 wRC+ in 34 games. But the individual components look better with a 17.1%/9.1% K%/BB%, 4 homers, and 5 steals. He’s looking more like an above average across the board contributor rather than a true star right now though

11) (11) (11) (27) Samuel BasalloBAL, C/1B, 19.11 – You couldn’t pry Basallo away from Baltimore’s cold dead hands at the deadline, and for good reason, as he’s still 19 years old with 15 homers, a 127 wRC+ and 20.9%/8.9% K%/BB% in 88 games at Double-A. At 6’4”, he has future beast written all over him

12) (72) (58) (88) Leodalis De VriesSDP, SS, 17.9 – The explosion is on, slashing .274/.397/.573 with 9 homers, 6 steals, and 22%/14.9% K%/BB% in his last 29 games. He now has a well above average 110 wRC+ in 64 games at Single-A. He’s my favorite to be the #1 prospect in the game by this time next year

13) (23) (8) (12) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 19.5 – Showed an elite plate approach at Single-A (11.3%/18.5% K%/BB% in 33 games), which is exciting because we know the big power is in there at 6’3”, 210 pounds. He hasn’t been as good since getting the call to High-A with a 61 wRC+ and 18.2%/9.2% K%/BB%, but obviously it’s too small of a sample to say anything

14) (7) (NA) (6) Jordan LawlarARI, SS, 22.1 – Lawlar tore is shoulder swinging a bat. He broke his thumb fielding a grounder. And he suffered a major hamstring strain presumably when running. Swinging a bat, fielding grounders, and running is basically the job, and getting majorly injured so often while doing these routine things makes it appropriate to slap the dreaded “injury prone” label on him. I still love him, but the injuries are piling up

15) (13) (6) (15) Jackson JobeDET, RHP, 22.0 – The elite control from 2023 has vanished with a 14.5% BB% in 42.1 IP at Double-A. He went from Maddux to Misiorowski. But he’s still dominating with a 1.91 ERA and 30.6% K%, and I don’t believe that walk rate is his true talent. Not budging on him

16) (FYPD-3) Jac Caglionone KCR, 1B/LHP, 21.6 – Ranked 3rd overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 6th overall, Caglionone is a giant human being at 6’5”, 250 pounds. Condon may have an extra inch on him, but he can’t even come close to Caglinone’s sheer mass. And it’s not Dan Vogelbach mass, it’s elite NFL TE type mass and athleticism. This is what truly elite power looks like, and he has no trouble getting to that power with 75 homers in 165 career games in the SEC. He also pitches with a fastball that can reach the upper 90’s to give you an idea of the type of athlete we are talking about, even if his future is almost certainly with the bat. The plate approach and hit tool were questions coming into the year, but he massively improved in those areas this year with a 8.2%/18.4% K%/BB% (18.2%/5.3% in 2023). The biggest knock on his profile is the very high chase rate, making him riskier than the other top bats in his class, but let me make a counter argument to that for a second. One, basically every hitter with an extremely high walk rate and low chase got criticized for not swinging enough, namely Kurtz. Jac is getting criticized for swinging too much. You can’t win. Two, if I was a pitcher, I wouldn’t want to give this guy anything to hit either. Sure, he chased, but not to his detriment. He did a ton of damage (.419 BA with a 1.419 OPS) and made a ton of contact. Three, there is something to be said about Jac proving he can hit very tough pitches that are out of the zone. It goes without saying that pro pitching and MLB pitching is much, much, much tougher than college pitching. You are going to have to hit tough pitches. You can’t always wait for a perfect pitch. Jac has proven he can do that. Maybe that’s just the lawyer in me to feel the pull to argue for a clear negative, ha, but it sounded good, right? I feel like there’s something to it, and on pure upside, Jac very well might be the top guy in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 94/37/109/.261/.342/.524/8″

17) (FYPD-4) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 21.11 – Ranked 4th overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 7th overall, Wetherholt slid in the draft a bit after getting a lot of #1 overall buzz. Maybe it was the injuries, missing about half of the season with a hamstring injury and still not being fully healthy when he returned. It was his 2nd major hamstring injury within the year. It could also be that he is on the small side at 5’10”, and doesn’t have quite the raw power of the other top college hitters in the draft. Don’t get me wrong, he definitely has plenty of power, but about a 16 homer pace is not that impressive when everyone else is hitting 30. Or maybe it’s that he didn’t face the toughest competition in the Big 12. What he does better than maybe anyone else in the draft though is hit. He put up a 10.4%/18.3% K%/BB% in 2024 and had a 8.2% K% in 2023. He’s a complete hitter who uses the entire field with a quick and simple lefty swing. He also rocks the little man leg kick which I love, ensuring he will get the most out of his very good raw power. Tack on plus speed (57 steals in 145 career games), and you have a damn enticing fantasy player even if his power upside doesn’t quite match some of the other bats in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 97/21/82/.290/.357/.462/26″

18) (19) (32) (41) Xavier IsaacTBR, 1B, 20.8 – Called up to Double-A and went lefty on lefty for his first homer at the level in his 3rd game. The power is no joke, but the hit tool has some risk with a 30% K% at High-A and 42.9% K% in 3 games at Double-A

19) (18) (24) (48) Marcelo MayerBOS, SS, 21.8 – 140 wRC+ in 77 games at Double-A, but how big the power/speed combo will end up is still a question. He has only 8 homers with a 47.4% GB%, and he’s not a burner despite a solid 13 steals. He might end up more solid than standout in the majors, but at only 21, there is plenty of development time left to go.

20) (22) (55) (83) Josue De PaulaLAD, OF, 19.2 – Everything is translating to High-A except for the BABIP (.236). De Vries, Jenkins, De Paula and my next guy, Walcott, is going to be a super fun 1, 2. 3, 4 one day atop the prospects rankings

21) (33) (30) (33) Sebastian WalcottTEX, SS, 18.6 – Destroying High-A for awhile now, slashing .301/.356/.534 with 7 homers, 9 steals, and a 24.7%/7.7% in his last 45 games. That’s insanely impressive for an 18 year old, and the tools are elite at 6’4”

22) (27) (17) (36) Andrew Painter PHI, RHP, 21.2 –  Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023, which will keep him out for all of 2024. He has the type of elite upside to take the Tommy John discount on, but I do think you have to factor some risk in

23) (FYPD-5) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 21.7 – Ranked 5th overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 2nd overall, dynasty managers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cincinnati for going Burns over Condon. It would have made me legitimately sad to see Burns going to the Rockies. I know Cincinnati is no cake walk for pitchers themselves, but they just have a small ballpark, they don’t have different air. And we’ve seen plenty of pitchers have excellent seasons in Cincy (Castillo, Gray, Greene, Lodolo), so I wouldn’t let this landing spot move you off Burns at all. He has legit ace upside at a strong 6’3”, 210 pounds with a double plus fastball that sits in the upper 90’s and a double plus slider that put up elite whiff rates. It led to a 2.70 ERA with a ridiculous 48.8%/7.7% K%/BB% in 100 IP in the ACC. He’s inevitably going to get compared to Skenes, and Skenes put up a 1.69 ERA with a 45.2%/4.3% K%/BB% in 122.2 IP in the SEC. Skenes was in the tougher conference (although Burns pitched well in the SEC in 2022-23 before transferring to the ACC) with a better ERA, better walk rate and more IP. Burns isn’t as good as Skenes, but not many are better than Skenes, so that isn’t much of a knock. Burns also throws a curve and changeup to give him a legit starters pitch mix, and how well he can develop those pitches could dictate whether he becomes a true ace or a high K, #2/3 type. If your dynasty team is stacked with hitting, I don’t think taking Burns #1 overall should be ruled out. The teams that took Skenes over Langford and Crews in 2024 aren’t complaining too much right now. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 15/3.23/1.08/245 in 190 IP”

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
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-TOP 57 2025 FYPD RANKS (7/19/24)
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-TOP 11 MID-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS (6/25/24)
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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

2025 Top 50 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon)

I know this draft class has been absolutely shit on by the mainstream draft pundits, but a major part of that is because of lack of defensive value with the top players in the class. For dynasty baseball, we don’t care about that nearly as much, and in fact, a college bat heavy class who are only being drafted highly because of their bats is a dream come true. This is an extremely exciting class for dynasty purposes. And it’s not just the very top players. The class is deep in legitimately exciting college bats. Do not be scared off to trade into this FYPD class because of the rhetoric you hear from mainstream sources. In fact, you can try to use that to get a discount on trading into the Top 20 picks or so. With that in mind, here is the 2025 Top 50 First Year Player Draft Rankings:

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1) Charlie CondonCOL, 3B/1B/OF, 21.3 – I was all set to have Bazzana #1 on my FYPD Board, but with Condon going to Coors with the 3rd overall pick in the draft, it rattled my whole game plan. How can you pass up on a massive human being, with massive numbers, in the best conference in college baseball, going to the best ballpark in the majors, which just so happens to juice up the only slight quibble in his profile? The answer is, you can’t. Or at least I can’t. Condon has to be the top dog now. He’s 6’6”, 215 pounds and he swings the bat like it’s a literal twig. He ripped 37 homers in 60 games in the SEC this year and has 62 homers in 116 career games in the SEC. The power is near elite (I say near elite, because Jac has more power). He improved both his contact rates and plate approach this year with a 13.5%/18.8% K%/BB%, and like I alluded to, Coors Field juices up batting average the most. Coors is actually slightly below average for homers in 2024, but with 6’6” baseball players, it’s always the BA you have to watch out for, so this landing spot is perfect. He’s not going to steal many bases, but he’s a good athlete, and he should be able to nab a handful. If your team really needs the stolen bases, I can maybe see going Bazzana one, but all things being equal, there is just too much offense upside in that hitting environment to pass up on Condon in the top spot. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 99/34/107/.276/.357/.529/6 Where he would rank on the Mid-Season 2024 Top 422 Dynasty Rankings: #122 – ranked around Isaac Paredes and Josh Jung. That puts him around Top 15-ish on the Prospects Rankings, after guys like Basallo and Mayo, and before guys like Montes and Isaac

2) Travis BazzanaCLE, 2B, 21.11 – Selected 1st overall, Bazzana looks like a tightly wound ball of kinetic energy that is just ready to explode in the box (I think ball of “Potential” energy is actually the correct scientific term, but I felt like “Kinetic” just hit harder 🙂 … There is toe tapping and bat wiggling before he absolutely uncoils on the baseball, jacking 28 homers in 60 games in the Pac 12 this year, and also smoking 6 homers with a 1.037 OPS in the wood bat cape cod league in 2023. He’s “only” 6 feet tall, but there is easy plus power in here at the least. He combines the plus power with a near elite plate approach/hit tool (12.5%/25.7% K%/BB%), and speed (16 steals). He’s the total offensive package, and there is a reason he got taken #1 overall by a very smart franchise despite limited defensive value. The only thing that can stop him seems to be his parents. His parents almost ended his career before it started when celebrating. His dad tried to rip his arm out of his socket, and then his mom put him in some kind of neck hold into a tripping maneuver. Travis almost looked like he was about to square up with his mom for a second there. I guess they do things differently Down Under in Australia. Either way, he survived, and if you want to give Bazzana the edge over Condon because of steals, I wouldn’t blame you. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 100/25/91/.287/.366/.481/23 Where he would rank on the Mid-Season 2024 Top 422 Dynasty Rankings: #123 – see above

3) Jac CagliononeKCR, 1B/LHP, 21.5 – Selected 6th overall, Caglionone is a giant human being at 6’5”, 250 pounds. Condon may have an extra inch on him, but he can’t even come close to Caglinone’s sheer mass. And it’s not Dan Vogelbach mass, it’s elite NFL TE type mass and athleticism. This is what truly elite power looks like, and he has no trouble getting to that power with 75 homers in 165 career games in the SEC. He also pitches with a fastball that can reach the upper 90’s to give you an idea of the type of athlete we are talking about, even if his future is almost certainly with the bat. The plate approach and hit tool were questions coming into the year, but he massively improved in those areas this year with a 8.2%/18.4% K%/BB% (18.2%/5.3% in 2023). The biggest knock on his profile is the very high chase rate, making him riskier than the other top bats in his class, but let me make a counter argument to that for a second. One, basically every hitter with an extremely high walk rate and low chase got criticized for not swinging enough, namely Kurtz. Jac is getting criticized for swinging too much. You can’t win. Two, if I was a pitcher, I wouldn’t want to give this guy anything to hit either. Sure, he chased, but not to his detriment. He did a ton of damage (.419 BA with a 1.419 OPS) and made a ton of contact. Three, there is something to be said about Jac proving he can hit very tough pitches that are out of the zone. It goes without saying that pro pitching and MLB pitching is much, much, much tougher than college pitching. You are going to have to hit tough pitches. You can’t always wait for a perfect pitch. Jac has proven he can do that. Maybe that’s just the lawyer in me to feel the pull to argue for a clear negative, ha, but it sounded good, right? I feel like there’s something to it, and on pure upside, Jac very well might be the top guy in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 94/37/109/.261/.342/.524/8 Where he would rank on the Mid-Season 2024 Top 422 Dynasty Rankings: #124 – see above

4) JJ WetherholtSTL, 2B, 21.10 – Selected 7th overall, Wetherholt slid in the draft a bit after getting a lot of #1 overall buzz. Maybe it was the injuries, missing about half of the season with a hamstring injury and still not being fully healthy when he returned. It was his 2nd major hamstring injury within the year. It could also be that he is on the small side at 5’10”, and doesn’t have quite the raw power of the other top college hitters in the draft. Don’t get me wrong, he definitely has plenty of power, but about a 16 homer pace is not that impressive when everyone else is hitting 30. Or maybe it’s that he didn’t face the toughest competition in the Big 12. What he does better than maybe anyone else in the draft though is hit. He put up a 10.4%/18.3% K%/BB% in 2024 and had a 8.2% K% in 2023. He’s a complete hitter who uses the entire field with a quick and simple lefty swing. He also rocks the little man leg kick which I love, ensuring he will get the most out of his very good raw power. Tack on plus speed (57 steals in 145 career games), and you have a damn enticing fantasy player even if his power upside doesn’t quite match some of the other bats in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 97/21/82/.290/.357/.462/26 Where he would rank on the Mid-Season 2024 Top 422 Dynasty Rankings: #125 – see above

5) Chase BurnsCIN, RHP, 21.6 – Selected 2nd overall, dynasty managers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cincinnati for going Burns over Condon. It would have made me legitimately sad to see Burns going to the Rockies. I know Cincinnati is no cake walk for pitchers themselves, but they just have a small ballpark, they don’t have different air. And we’ve seen plenty of pitchers have excellent seasons in Cincy (Castillo, Gray, Greene, Lodolo), so I wouldn’t let this landing spot move you off Burns at all. He has legit ace upside at a strong 6’3”, 210 pounds with a double plus fastball that sits in the upper 90’s and a double plus slider that put up elite whiff rates. It led to a 2.70 ERA with a ridiculous 48.8%/7.7% K%/BB% in 100 IP in the ACC. He’s inevitably going to get compared to Skenes, and Skenes put up a 1.69 ERA with a 45.2%/4.3% K%/BB% in 122.2 IP in the SEC. Skenes was in the tougher conference (although Burns pitched well in the SEC in 2022-23 before transferring to the ACC) with a better ERA, better walk rate and more IP. Burns isn’t as good as Skenes, but not many are better than Skenes, so that isn’t much of a knock. Burns also throws a curve and changeup to give him a legit starters pitch mix, and how well he can develop those pitches could dictate whether he becomes a true ace or a high K, #2/3 type. If your dynasty team is stacked with hitting, I don’t think taking Burns #1 overall should be ruled out. The teams that took Skenes over Langford and Crews in 2024 aren’t complaining too much right now. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 15/3.23/1.08/245 in 190 IP Where he would rank on the Mid-Season 2024 Top 422 Dynasty Rankings: #150 – ranked around Shane Baz, Andrew Painter, and MacKenzie Gore. That puts him under the Jobe/Schultz tier and over the Hence/Horton tier

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 11 MID-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS (6/25/24)
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-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-SPREADSHEETS

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)